Optical pulse source apparatus with nonlinear fibre and operable to reduce the optical pulse frequency of optical output pulses

ABSTRACT

The invention can include an optical pulse source apparatus that includes the nonlinear generation of wavelengths, wherein the optical pulse source can comprise an oscillator for producing optical pulses, the optical pulses having a first wavelength; an optical fiber amplifier for amplifying optical pulses having the first wavelength; a nonlinear optical fiber receiving amplified optical pulses having the first wavelength to nonlinearly produce optical pulses that include wavelengths that are different than the first wavelength; and wherein the optical pulse source is configured so as to be operable to reduce the optical pulse frequency of the nonlinearly produced optical pulses.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 9,287,677 issued on15 Mar. 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,902,496 issuedon 2 Dec. 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,593,726issued on 26 Nov. 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No.8,379,298 issued on 19 Feb. 2013 which bears a 371 filing date of 16Jan. 2009. U.S. Pat. No. 8,379,298 is a US National Stage entry fromInternational Patent Application Serial No. PCT/GB2007/000136, filed on18 Jan. 2007, designating the United States of America, which in turnclaims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of United KingdomPatent Application Serial No. GB 0601154.8 filed on 20 Jan. 2006. All ofthe foregoing applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an optical pulse source.

BACKGROUND

There are many existing and emerging applications of high power lasersin industrial, medical and scientific processes. Conventionally, solidstate and gas lasers, with bulk-optical cavities, are used in theseapplications, and the outputs of these lasers are generally free space,collimated beams. In most cases, the laser source can be very large, andoften constitutes the largest single element of an instrument ormachine. In using laser systems in industrial applications, it is oftendifficult to position the large laser very close to the intended targetof the laser beam and therefore bulk-optic beam steering is required.Such beam steering includes specially designed, low loss, highreflective and high-damage threshold mirrors, mounted and positionedwith precision and on a heavy and vibration-isolated surface to enable arobust, reliable performance. In many applications such as semiconductorinspection, the inspection tool is just one of many instruments andmachines used within the semiconductor manufacturing process, and spaceon the manufacturing floor—very often being in an expensive, clean-roomenvironment—costs a premium. Therefore, reduction of the instrumentationfootprint is highly beneficial. In other industrial applications, suchas laser materials processing, the application environment can veryoften be noisy, dirty and a challenge to the operation of a lasersource. In this application additional measures are often required toprotect the laser and beam steering optics from the hostile workingenvironment.

Fiber delivery of the laser beam is a clear and interesting option,enabling the laser source to be positioned remotely from the targetspace and enabling a compact optical beam delivery head (optical head)to be installed within the instrument, with the large laser source beingpositioned, along with any power supplies and cooling systems, outsidean instrument and clean room environment. With conventional bulk lasers,fiber delivery involves launching of the laser output beam into anoptical fiber. This is very difficult to achieve, especially inhigh-power laser applications. Most applications require a good beamquality of the laser, which requires a single mode fiber to deliver thebeam. In reality, a single mode fiber has a core diameter of less than15 μm, very often less than 10 μm, and efficient and stable launching ofa beam into this aperture is difficult to achieve. Furthermore, inhigh-power applications, launching of such high intensities into a fiberwill damage the fiber facet.

In addition, applications of UV fiber lasers cannot use a conventionaloptical fiber to deliver the beam since the UV is absorbed by the fiber.One option that has been considered is to use Hollow Core PhotonicCrystal Fibers (HCPCF's) in which the light is mostly guided within anair-core of the fiber. The use of HCPCF's does not solve the problem oflaunching the light into the fiber and avoiding facet damage at highpowers. However, HCPCF's have two benefits—they enable the propagationof UV radiation with relatively low loss and also reduced fibernonlinearity by a factor of approximately 1000 in comparison toconventional glass-guided optical fibers.

Fiber lasers clearly have a significant advantage over conventional bulklasers, since the optical beam is already within the fiber and nolaunching optics are required. Most high-power fiber lasers,particularly in the pulsed lasers, use a Master Oscillator PowerAmplifier (MOPA) configuration, in which the output of a low-power fiberoscillator is amplified in a series of high-power fiber amplifiers. Inprinciple, the output of a fiber laser or fiber amplifier can bedelivered directly to the intended target through an output fiber.However, in short pulse applications the nonlinear effects of the fiberand amplifier prevent this. Short optical pulses are generally defined(and defined herein) as pulses having a duration of less than 10 ns(10⁻⁸ seconds). Reduction of fiber nonlinearity is a major challenge inany fiber-based system, particularly when short pulses are required atrelatively high peak intensities.

In cw and long pulse applications, there is little issue with the use ofadditional lengths of fiber at the amplifier output, since nonlineareffects can often be neglected owing to relatively low peak powers.However, for short-pulse fiber delivery, the nonlinear effects within anoptical fiber prevent the delivery of high power pulses due todegradation of the pulses' temporal and spectral characteristics due tohigh order nonlinear effects such as self-phase modulation, which causesspectral broadening, and Raman scattering, which causes both spectraland temporal broadening.

HCPCF's and conventional optical fibers with larger core sizes (referredto as large-mode-area (LMA) fibers) have been used to reduce fibernonlinearity. HCPCF's reduce the nonlinearity by several orders ofmagnitude, where LMA fibers reduce the nonlinearity, scaling with thearea of the core. However, the use of LMA fibers for beam delivery inhigh-power pulsed applications is not a solution since even the largestsingle-mode core fiber (of 15-20 μm), results in significant nonlineareffects when high-peak power pulses are delivered.

The importance of reducing nonlinear effects can be illustrated byconsidering UV to generation from a short-pulse source. The use of shortpulses to generate visible and UV radiation is a common approach, sincethe high peak powers attainable from short pulses provide efficientfrequency conversion in nonlinear materials such as lithium triborate(LBO) and β-barium borate (BBO). However, efficient conversion withinconventional nonlinear media often requires that the spectral bandwidthof the pulse is as narrow as possible—preferably with the pulsestransform limited. Any high order nonlinearity within a delivery fiberor a fiber amplifier will result in spectral broadening; a relativelylow nonlinearity will double the spectral bandwidth of a pulse and hencesignificantly reduce the conversion efficiency of that pulse. It istherefore important in all stages of amplification of the pulse to avoidor reduce fiber nonlinear effects.

For amplifying short optical pulses, it is possible to use Chirped PulseAmplification (CPA), a technique developed for bulk-laser systems, inwhich a short pulse from an oscillator is stretched in a fiber or bulkoptic stretcher, amplified and then compressed. In this instance, theamplified, long pulses can also be delivered by an optical fiber to aremote probe where they are subsequently re-compressed, as described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,249,630.

One of the main problems with the CPA approach is that, in order toamplify pulses without significant nonlinear distortion, the pulse mustbe stretched to a duration of typically greater than 10 ns. Therefore,to compress the stretched amplified pulse, a fairly long and complexcompressor is required. Furthermore, in stretching and compressing thepulse, bulk optic components are typically required, preventing anall-fiber approach. This is difficult to make robust and involvessignificant loss which necessitates another stage of amplification inthe MOPA. Furthermore, after amplification and fiber delivery, thecompression stage also involves significant optical loss and, due to therelatively long pulse duration, the compressor itself is very large,meaning that the optical head itself has a large footprint. In general,the approach of CPA is not ideal and is also difficult to maintain in acompact, robust and lightweight form especially in a harsh operatingenvironment.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a highpower short optical pulse source comprising:

an optical signal source operable to output short optical pulses;

an optical pump light source provided at a first location;

an optical head provided at a second location remote from the firstlocation;

high power optical fiber amplifier means having at least its opticaloutput located within the optical head;

an optical signal delivery fiber arranged to deliver optical pulses fromthe optical signal source to the high power optical fiber amplifiermeans; and

a pump light delivery fiber arranged to deliver optical pump light tothe high power optical fiber amplifier means,

wherein short optical pulses of a first optical power are delivered tothe high power optical fiber amplifier means and are amplified thereinto a second, high optical power for output from the optical head.

The optical signal source preferably comprises a master oscillatoroptically coupled to an optical fiber preamplifier, comprising apreamplifier amplifier optical fiber and one or more preamplifieroptical pump sources. The preamplifier amplifier optical fiberpreferably comprises a rare-earth doped optical fiber. The opticalsignal source is preferably provided at the first location.Alternatively, the master oscillator and the preamplifier amplifieroptical fiber may be provided at a third location, intermediate thefirst and second locations, with the or each preamplifier optical pumpsource being provided at the first location and being coupled to thepreamplifier amplifier optical fiber via a corresponding one or morepreamplifier pump delivery fibers.

A plurality of optical pump light sources may be provided at the firstlocation and a corresponding plurality of pump light delivery fibers.

The high power optical fiber amplifier means preferably comprises anamplifier optical fiber and one or more pump signal combiners. Theamplifier optical fiber preferably comprises a rare-earth doped opticalfiber, and is most preferably of the same type of rare-earth dopedoptical fiber as the preamplifier amplifier optical fiber.

The high power short optical pulse source may comprise a plurality ofhigh power optical fiber amplifier means optically coupled in series, atleast the optical output of the final high power optical fiber amplifiermeans being located within the optical head.

The or each amplifier optical fiber is preferably located within theoptical head. The or each pump signal combiner may be located within theoptical head. The or each pump signal combiner may alternatively belocated at the first location, with the high power optical fiberamplifier means additionally comprising a pump signal delivery fiberoptically coupled between the or each pump signal combiner and the oreach amplifier optical fiber. The or each pump signal delivery fiber ispreferably a double-clad optical fiber and is most preferably apolarisation maintaining optical fiber.

Alternatively, the amplifier optical fiber may be arranged to extendfrom the first location to the optical head. The amplifier optical fiberpreferably comprises a double-clad amplifier optical fiber. The or apump signal combiner may be provided at the first location, arranged tocouple optical pulses and pump light into one end of the amplifieroptical fiber. Alternatively or additionally, the or a pump signalcombiner may be provided within the optical head, arranged to couplepump light into the signal output end of the amplifier optical fiber.

The optical head preferably further comprises an optical isolator andoptical collimator assembly optically coupled to the output of the highpower optical fiber amplifier means.

The high power optical fiber amplifier means may further comprise a bulkoptic amplifier element, most preferably a rod amplifier, opticallycoupled to the output end of the or the final amplifier optical fiber,said amplifier optical fiber being under-length such that a proportionof any pump light coupled into said amplifier optical fiber isunabsorbed by it, and serves to pump the bulk optic amplifier element.

The high power short optical pulse source may further comprise nonlinearoptical frequency conversion means optically coupled to the output ofthe or the final high power optical fiber amplifier means. The nonlinearoptical frequency conversion means preferably comprises a nonlinearoptical crystal. The nonlinear optical frequency conversion means maycomprise a plurality of nonlinear optical crystals arranged optically inseries. The nonlinear optical frequency conversion means mayalternatively comprise a nonlinear optical fiber.

The high power short optical pulse source may alternatively oradditionally comprise an optical pulse compressor optically coupled tothe output of the or the final high power optical fiber amplifier meansor the nonlinear optical frequency conversion means. The optical pulsecompressor may comprise a transmission grating pair or photonic crystalfiber having anomalous dispersion at the signal wavelength.

The high power short optical pulse source may further comprise a pulsepicker operable to reduce the optical pulse frequency. The pulse pickerpreferably comprises an optical gate, such as an acousto-opticmodulator, driven at a synchronised gating frequency lower than theoptical pulse frequency output from the optical signal source.

The high power short optical pulse source may further comprise opticalmonitoring means within the optical head.

The optical head may be movably mounted to enable accurate direction ofgenerated high power short optical pulses onto a target or specimenunder test. The optical head is preferably mounted on a translationstage or a mechanical manipulator, such as a robotic arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a fifth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a seventh embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a eighth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a high power short optical pulsesource according to a ninth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of a high power short opticalpulse source according to a tenth embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of a high power short opticalpulse source according to an eleventh embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the invention provides a highpower short optical pulse source 10 comprising an optical signal sourcein the form of a master oscillator 12 and an Ytterbium doped fiberamplifier (YDFA) preamplifier 14, a pump light source 16, an opticalhead 18, high power optical fiber amplifier means 20, an optical signaldelivery fiber 22, a pump light delivery fiber 24, and a high poweroptical isolator 26.

The master oscillator 12 comprises a modelocked fiber oscillatoroperable to output 10 ps pulses at a pulse frequency of 200 MHz. Thepreamplifier 14 amplifies the pulse average power to approximately 100mW.

In this example, the master oscillator 12, preamplifier 14, and pumplaser 16, together with their associated drive and control electronics,and cooling systems (not shown), are provided within a first enclosure28 at a first location. Additional optical isolators 30, 32 are providedafter the master oscillator 12 and the preamplifier 14 to protect themfrom back reflections.

The high power fiber amplifier means 20 comprises a 1 m longsingle-mode, polarisation maintaining, large mode area Ytterbium dopedamplifier fiber and a pump signal combiner having a large mode areasignal fiber. The high power fiber amplifier means 20 and the high poweroptical isolator 26 are provided within the optical head 18, which islocated at a second location, remote from the first location.

The short, relatively low power optical pulses output from thepreamplifier 14 are delivered to the pump signal combiner of the highpower fiber amplifier means 20 via the optical signal delivery fiber 22,which comprises a 5 m long polarisation maintaining, single-mode opticalfiber; the use of polarisation maintaining fiber prevents anyenvironmental effects disturbing the signal.

The pump light source 16 comprises a fiber pig-tailed multi-emitter pumpsource operable to generate cw pump light at a wavelength of 915 nm, andan optical power of between 20 W and 40 W.

The pump light is delivered to the pump signal combiner of the highpower optical fiber amplifier means 20 through the pump delivery fiber24, which in this example is a 5 m length of optical fiber having a 105μm diameter core and a numerical aperture of 0.22. The pump deliveryfiber 24 is not sensitive to environmental effects but can, along withsignal delivery fiber, be protected within an armoured jacket forindustrial applications.

The high power optical fiber amplifier means 20 amplifies the receivedoptical pulses to an average power of approximately 20 W, resulting in apulse peak power of approximately 10 kW. The overall low nonlinearity ofthe high power optical pulse source 10 ensures that spectral broadeningof the optical pulses is minimised, and the pulses have a final spectralbandwidth of less than 0.5 nm.

The optical head 18, containing the high power optical fiber amplifiermeans 20 and the isolator 26, has a small footprint and can bepositioned at the intended target of the optical pulses. The large,noisy elements of the high power short optical pulse source 10 arethereby provided away from the application site of the pulses, and onlythe smaller optical head need be located near the intended target.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 2 shows a high power short optical pulse source 40 according to asecond embodiment of the invention. The optical pulse source 40 of thisembodiment is substantially the same as the optical pulse source 10 ofthe first embodiment, with the following modifications. The samereference numbers are retained for corresponding features.

In this embodiment, a second pump light source 42 is provided at thefirst location, within the first enclosure. A second pump light deliveryfiber 44 is also provided and delivers pump light from the second pumplight source 42 to the pump signal combiner of the high power opticalfiber amplifier means 20.

It will be appreciated that the high power optical fiber amplifier means20 may alternatively comprise a two-stage amplifier having a series oftwo amplifier fibers and pump signal combiners, with an isolatorprovided between amplifier stages as necessary. Each pump signal source16, 42 would then pump a separate amplifier stage, the amplifier stagesbeing cascaded to provide increasing signal with balanced gainthroughout the cascade.

In most applications, the high power optical fiber amplifier means 20will only require a single amplifier fiber. However, the number ofamplifier fibers (and thus the number of pump light sources) will atleast in part be determined by the power of the optical pulses outputfrom the preamplifier 14, the length of signal delivery fiber 22, andthe permitted amount of nonlinear effects as determined by theapplication of the high power short optical pulse source 10.

Third Embodiment

A high power short optical pulse source 50 according to a thirdembodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 3. The pulse source 50according to this embodiment is substantially the same as the pulsesource 40 of the previous embodiment, with the following modifications.The same reference numbers are retained for corresponding features.

In this embodiment, the pump signal combiner 52 of the high poweroptical fiber amplifier means 20 is provided at the first location,within the first enclosure 28. The pump delivery fibers 24, 44 and thesignal delivery fiber 22 are also wholly contained within the firstenclosure 28.

The high power optical fiber amplifier means 20 of this embodimentfurther comprises a pump signal delivery fiber 54, which comprises theoutput fiber of the pump signal combiner 52. The pump signal deliveryfiber 54 is a polarisation maintaining double clad optical fiber whichhas a signal-guiding core region and an inner cladding which guides thepump light from the pump sources 16, 42.

The pump signal delivery fiber 54 extends from the pump signal combiner52, within the first enclosure 28, to the amplifier fiber 56, within theoptical head 18. The amplifier fiber 56 is therefore pumped in theco-propagating regime.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 4 shows a high power short optical pulse source 60 according to afourth embodiment of the invention. The pulse source 60 of thisembodiment is substantially the same as the pulse source 50 of theprevious embodiment, with the following modifications.

In this embodiment, the amplifier fiber 62 comprises a polarisationmaintaining double clad amplifier fiber and extends between the pumpsignal combiner 52 and the optical head 18. The input end of theamplifier fiber 62 is coupled to the output of the pump signal combiner52 and the output end of the amplifier fiber 62 is located in theoptical head 18, where it is coupled to an optical isolator andcollimating optics 64. The amplifier fiber 62 therefore provides thedual functions of pulse amplification and pulse delivery to the opticalhead 18.

Since fiber amplifiers are not 100% efficient (typically 50 to 75%efficiency is achievable), the amplifier fiber 62 will get warm duringuse. Heat dissipation may be achieved by using an armoured cable toprotect the amplifier fiber 62; the void around the amplifier fiber 62being filled with a suitable heat transfer fluid or paste to ensure goodthermal contact between the amplifier fiber 62 and the cable innersurface.

Fifth Embodiment

A high power short optical pulse source 70 according to a fifthembodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5. The pulse source 70 ofthis embodiment is substantially the same as the pulse source 60 of theprevious embodiment, with the following modifications.

In this example, the pump signal combiner 52 is provided in the opticalhead 18, so that a counter-propagating pump regime is used. The pumpdelivery fibers 24, 44 extend from the pump sources 16, 42 in the firstenclosure to the pump signal combiner 52 in the optical head 18.

Sixth Embodiment

A high power short optical pulse source 80 according to a sixthembodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6. The optical pulse source80 is substantially the same as the pulse source 60 of FIG. 4, with thefollowing modifications.

In this example, the amplifier fiber 62 is made to be “under-length”,such that quite a large portion of the pump light delivered to theamplifier fiber is not absorbed within the amplifier fiber, butpropagates through to the fiber output, along with the signal pulses.The high power optical fiber amplifier means 20 further comprises a rodamplifier 82, in the form of a Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (YAG) crystalrod, optically coupled to the output of the amplifier fiber 62, to forma hybrid amplifier device. The YAG crystal rod 82 performs a secondstage of amplification of the short optical pulses, in a very shortpiece of material, using the unabsorbed pump light to pump the YAGcrystal rod 82. The YAG crystal rod 82 can provide an additional gain ofa few dB's while providing very little nonlinear distortion to thesignal pulses. The gain of the YAG crystal rod 82 is determined by theefficiency of the crystal, the divergence of pump light and the signalpulses, and the overlap of the pump light and the signal pulses throughthe YAG crystal rod 82.

In order to prevent optical feedback from the YAG crystal 82 into theamplifier fiber 62, both the output end of the amplifier fiber 62 andthe YAG crystal rod 82 are coated with anti-reflection coatings.Alternatively, the amplifier fiber 62 and the YAG crystal rod can befused together.

It will be appreciated that a rod amplifier such as the YAG crystal rod82 may also be used with any of the embodiments described above.

Seventh Embodiment

FIG. 7 shows a high power short optical pulse source 90 according to aseventh embodiment of the invention. The optical pulse source 90 isbased on the optical pulse source 40 of FIG. 2, with the followingmodifications. The same reference numbers are retained for correspondingfeatures.

In this example the high power short optical pulse source 90 furthercomprises nonlinear optical frequency conversion means 92, opticallycoupled to the output of the high power optical fiber amplifier means 20and located within the optical head 18.

The nonlinear optical frequency conversion means 92 comprises (opticallycoupled in series) a set of phase plates 94, a first nonlinear crystal96, which in this example is a Type I LBO crystal, a second nonlinearcrystal 98, which in this example is a Type I BBO crystal, and aharmonic separator 100.

The output optical pulses from the high power optical fiber amplifiermeans 20, having a wavelength of 1064 nm and an average power ofapproximately 20 W, pass through the phase plates 94, to set the optimumstate of polarisation for the nonlinear frequency conversion. The pulsesare then launched, using conventional collimation and focusing optics,into the LBO crystal 96, to convert the wavelength of the pulses totheir second harmonic of 532 nm, at an average power of 12 W.

The frequency converted pulses output from the LBO crystal 96 are thenlaunched into the BBO crystal 98, where the wavelength is converted totheir fourth harmonic wavelength of 266 nm, at an average power of 1.2W. The output from the BBO crystal 98 is then passed through theharmonic separator 100, which transmits only the desired wavelength, inthis case 266 nm, as the output of the high power short optical pulsesource 90 to the intended target.

The LBO and BBO crystals 96, 98 are respectively mounted within ovens,controlled by a temperature controller 102. Electrical power for theovens and the temperature controller 102, and to a cooling fan (notshown) for the high power optical fiber amplifier means 20 is deliveredto the optical head 18 through a power cable 104.

It will be appreciated that the nonlinear optical frequency conversionmeans 92 could alternatively use other combinations of crystals togenerate 3^(rd), 4^(th) or higher harmonics, for example periodicallypoled nonlinear crystals such as periodically poled lithium niobate(PPLN) or periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP), orcould use other combinations of conventional crystals such as LBO, BBO,BiB₃O₆ (BIBO), cesium lithium borate (CLBO), and potassium titanylphosphate (KTP).

For efficient frequency conversion the spectral bandwidth of the pulsesmust be maintained as narrow as possible. By transmitting the opticalpulses through the greatest length of fiber before amplifying the pulsesclose to the nonlinear optical conversion means 92, the high power shortoptical pulse source 90 ensures that spectral distortion of the pulsesis minimised and nonlinear optical conversion efficiency is therebymaximised.

The high power short optical pulse source 90 can therefore deliver UVlight directly to an intended target whilst remotely positioning thebulky elements of the source 90 away from the intended target.

It will be appreciated that the nonlinear optical frequency conversionmeans 92 may be is included in any of the high power short optical pulsesources according to the previously described embodiments.

Eighth Embodiment

A high power short optical pulse source 110 according to an eighthembodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 8. The pulse source 110 ofthis embodiment is based on the pulse source 10 of the first embodiment,with the following modifications, and is operable to generate ultrashort(femtosecond) optical pulses. The same reference numbers are retainedfor corresponding features.

The optical pulse source 110 further comprises a pulse compressor 112provided within the optical head 18 and optically coupled to the outputof the high power optical fiber amplifier means 20.

In this example the pulse compressor takes the form of a transmissiongrating pair 112 having a grating separation of less than 10 cm. Thepulse compressor 112 could alternatively comprise a fiber pulsecompressor based on Photonic Crystal Fiber with anomalous dispersion atthe signal wavelength.

The master oscillator 12 generates optical pulses having a duration ofapproximately 10 ps at a pulse frequency of 10 MHz. The pulses are thenamplified by the optical fiber preamplifier 14 to an optical power ofapproximately 50 mW. The signal pulses and 20 W 975 nm pump light fromthe pump light source 16 single are delivered over the signal deliveryfiber 22 and the pump delivery fiber 24 respectively, each of which are2 m long in this example, to large mode area, polarisation maintaining,single-mode Ytterbium doped amplifier fiber within the high poweroptical fiber amplifier means 20. The high power optical fiber amplifiermeans 20 amplifies the average pulse power to approximately 12 W,resulting in a pulse energy of greater than 10.

During amplification within the high power optical fiber amplifiermeans, the pulses (which enter the high power optical fiber amplifiermeans with a duration of approximately 10 ps) becomes linearly chirpeddue to the combination of positive fiber dispersion and self-phasemodulation.

The amplified pulses are then passed through the transmission gratingpair 112, which acts to compress the pulses to less than 500femtoseconds duration, with an efficiency of greater than 80%, toproduce pulses having an energy of approximately 10 and peak powers of 2MW. The high power ultrashort pulses can then be delivered from the head18 which can be positioned directly at the intended target without theneed for complex beam steering optics.

It will be appreciated that a pulse compressor 112 may be incorporatedinto any of the above described high power short optical pulse sourcesin order to generate ultrashort, femtosecond pulses.

Ninth Embodiment

FIG. 9 shows a high power short optical pulse source 120 according to aninth embodiment of the invention. The pulse source 120 is substantiallythe same as the pulse source 40 of FIG. 2, with the followingmodifications. The same reference numbers are retained for correspondingfeatures.

In this embodiment the pump light sources 16, 42 are provided within thefirst enclosure 28, at the first location, together with the pumpsources 122, 124 for the preamplifier 14, and their associatedelectrical drive circuitry, cooling and heat dissipation elements (notshown). The high power optical fiber amplifier means 20 and the opticalisolator 26 are provided within the optical head 18, at a secondlocation, remote from the first location.

The master oscillator 12 and the amplifier fiber and pump signalcombiner of the optical fiber preamplifier 14, together with theirassociated isolators 30, 32, are provided within a second enclosure 126,at a third location intermediate the first and second locations, 126.The outputs of the preamplifier pump sources 122, 124 are delivered tothe amplifier fiber of the optical fiber preamplifier 14 respectivelyvia preamplifier pump delivery fibers 128, 130

The master oscillator 12, preamplifier 14, and high power optical fiberamplifier means 20 can thus be enclosed in one or more separateenclosures positioned close to the application target area thus avoidingthe need for beam steering optics.

It will be appreciated that this arrangement can also be applied to anyof the previously described embodiments, including those with nonlinearfrequency conversion and pulse compression.

Tenth Embodiment

FIG. 10 shows a high power short optical pulse source 140 according to atenth embodiment of the invention. The pulse source 140 is substantiallythe same as the pulse source 10 of FIG. 1, with the followingmodifications. The same reference numbers are retained for correspondingfeatures.

The pulse source 140 further comprises a pulse picker 142 operable toreduce the optical pulse frequency. In this example the pulse picker 142comprises an acousto-optic modulator driven at a synchronised gatingfrequency lower than the optical pulse frequency output from the masteroscillator 12. The pulse picker 142 is provided after the preamplifier14, within the first enclosure 28. The pulse picker 142 is located at aposition within the pulse source 140 where the optical pulses have a lowpulse energy. This is because the optical insertion loss into theacousto-optical modulator pulse picker 142 is high, so it is preferablefor the pulses to be transmitted through the pulse picker 142 prior toamplifying them to their final high power. The provision of a pulsepicker also enables higher pulse energies to be achieved for a givenaverage output power.

It will be appreciated that a pulse picker 142 may be provided withinany of the above described pulse sources, and that where the pulsesource comprises high power optical fiber amplifier means having two ormore amplifier stages, the pulse picker 142 may be provided after anyone of the amplifier stages between the master oscillator and the finalhigh power amplifier stage.

Eleventh Embodiment

A high power short optical pulse source 50 according to an eleventhembodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 11. In this example, theoptical head 18 is movably mounted on a translation stage 152 which isoperable to provide translation of the optical head 18 in one or more ofthe x-, y- and z-axes. The controlled movement of the optical head 18provided by the translation stage 152 enables accurate direction of theoutput high power short optical pulses onto a target or specimen undertest. The optical head 18 may alternatively be mounted on a mechanicalmanipulator such as a robotic arm.

It will be appreciated that the optical heads 18 of any of thepreviously described embodiments may be similarly movably mounted.

Various modifications may be made to the described embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

It will be appreciated that the master oscillator could alternativelycomprise any optical source operable to generate short optical pulses,such as a solid-state modelocked laser, for example a Neodynium Vanadatelaser, or a gain-switched laser diode. The amplifier fibers of thepreamplifier and the high power optical fiber amplifier means mayalternatively be doped with a different rare-earth dopant, such asErbium, Thulium, or Neodynium.

In most applications, the pump source's will be a multi-mode pump sourceoperating at a suitable wavelength to pump the rare-earth-dopedamplifier fiber (e.g. 808 nm, 915 nm or 975 nm). For example, a singlefiber-pigtailed laser diode, diode bar or multi-emitter pump source suchas the PUMA source commercially supplied by Fianium Ltd, which deliversbetween 20 and 40 W within a single, 105 μm core, 0.22 NA pump deliveryfiber.

Where multi-mode pump delivery fibers are used, the pump signal combinerwill typically include a conventional tapered bundle, such as thosecommercially available from OFS or Sifam Fiber Optics. Alternatively,the pump signal combiner may be a tapered coupler, a side-pumping fiberconfiguration, or a distributed pump coupling fiber configuration suchas that proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,335. In the multi-mode pumpingregime, the amplifier fiber typically comprises a double-clad fiberstructure where the signal pulses are guided within a signal core andthe pump light is guided within the fiber cladding.

Alternatively, the pump source/s can be a single mode pump source suchas a fiber-pigtailed laser diode or a fiber laser. The fiber laser canbe a Raman fiber laser or could be a cladding pumped fiber lasergenerating cw or pulsed radiation at the wavelength required to pump therare-earth-doped amplifier fiber. In the single-mode pump regime, thesignal pulses and pump light from the one or more pump sources arecombined using conventional wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)components such as fused WDM couplers or thin-film WDM couplers.

In the single-mode pump regime, the amplifier fiber has a conventionalsingle clad geometry, where both the signal pulses and the pump lightpropagate within the core of the amplifier fiber. This has benefits inincreasing the pump absorption and thus reducing amplifier length andhence nonlinearity.

The optical head of any of the high power short optical pulse sourcesdescribed may also include a heat sink and integrated fan within thehigh power optical fiber amplifier means, to provide forced-air coolingof the amplifier fiber. Optical monitoring means may also be providedwithin the optical head, with both electrical and optical communicationto the first enclosure to monitor feedback and power levels, enablinginterlocks and automatic fault detection.

The described embodiments provide various advantages, as follows.

The high power short optical pulse sources enable a short-length fiberamplifier system and post processing optics to be remotely located fromthe bulky, noisy heat producing elements of the pulse source, andthereby enable optical head to be very compact. The optical head cantherefore be positioned close to the application space, taking upminimal space and avoiding the need for complex and expensive beamsteering optics.

The high power short optical pulse sources enable the delivery ofultrashort (femtosecond) optical pulses with high energy and narrowspectral bandwidth, without the use of complex chirped pulseamplification (CPA) methods. In short optical pulse amplifier systemswhich don't incorporate CPA methods, it is essential that all fiberlengths which deliver or amplify pulses to high peak powers, are kept asshort as physically possible; the structure and configuration of thehigh power short optical pulse sources ensures that this is achieved.

The high power short optical pulse sources incorporating a pulsecompressor eliminate the need for CPA in fiber-delivered laser sources.Providing a high power ultrashort pulse source which is more robust,lower cost and easier to maintain and assemble than known ultrashortpulse sources using CPA pulse compression.

The high power short optical pulse sources further enable the deliveryof UV optical pulses, efficiently generated within the optical head.

The high power short optical pulse sources also provide the advantage ofbeam delivery directly to the target without the use of complex beamsteering optics. The high power short optical pulse sources thereforeoffer improved mechanical robustness, reduced cost and weight, and easeof maintenance over known high power optical pulse sources.

The high power short optical pulse sources also allow for scalability inpower because they can incorporate multiple pump light sources in theremote pump enclosure and the pump delivered over long lengths with verylow loss to the amplifier system which is remotely located whetherwithin or close to the output optical head.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An optical pulse source apparatus includingnonlinear generation of wavelengths, comprising: an oscillator forproducing optical pulses, the optical pulses having a first wavelength;an optical amplifier for amplifying optical pulses having the firstwavelength; and a nonlinear optical fiber receiving amplified opticalpulses having the first wavelength to nonlinearly produce optical pulsesthat include wavelengths that are different than the first wavelength;wherein the optical pulse source apparatus varies the optical pulsefrequency of the optical pulses prior to receipt thereof by thenonlinear optical fiber so as to selectively control the optical pulsefrequency of the resultant nonlinearly produced optical pulses.
 2. Theoptical pulse source apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opticalpulse frequency of the optical pulses is varied by a pulse picker inoptical communication with the oscillator and the nonlinear opticalfiber.
 3. The optical pulse source apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the pulse picker is positioned between the oscillator and theoptical amplifier.
 4. The optical pulse source apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the optical pulses having the first wavelength arevaried prior to being amplified by the optical amplifier.
 5. The opticalpulse source apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the optical pulsefrequency of the optical pulses is varied by a pulse picker in opticalcommunication with the oscillator and the nonlinear optical fiber. 6.The optical pulse source apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thepulse picker is positioned between the oscillator and the opticalamplifier.